Thursday Speakers

Lyanne Abreu, M.S., has taught different science disciplines at both the middle school and high school level. For the past six years, she has been working at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley developing a dynamic environmental science curriculum with the help of various organizations, including ...

Rachel Albright, J.D., is a co-founder of the Nueva Math Circle, a gathering of students working on interesting problems and topics in mathematics in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now in its third year, the Nueva Math Circle is open to children from preK through 8th grade and attracts speakers from ...

Dan has been a math teacher at Nueva in grades 6 through 8 for the past 11 years. Prior to coming to Nueva, Dan spent a decade as an editor and writer for Key Curriculum Press, a math textbook publishing company. He has authored two books, Exploring Geometry with The Geometer's Sketchpad and ...

Matt Berman, M.A.T., was a recipient of the NEH Teacher-Scholar Award, and has been an elementary school teacher for more than 30 years, with certification in gifted education, and degrees in education and philosophy for children. A nationally recognized expert in children's literature, Matt has ...

Nancy Blachman, M.S., strives to make math cool, fun, and engaging. She is co-founder of the Nueva Math Circle, founder of MathDelights.org and the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, and is a member of the organizing committee for the Gathering for Gardner (G4G). Nancy has taught after-school ...

Peter Bowers, M.Ed., taught elementary school for ten years and is the founder of the WordWorks Literacy Centre in Ontario, Canada. WordWorks supports a unique, interactive approach to building literacy skills that develops reading, comprehension, vocabulary, and spelling abilities by teaching ...

Sin-Tung Chiu, M.A., has been a Menuhin violin instructor at Nueva since 1991 and the director of the Nueva String Ensemble since 2005. He teaches privately in San Francisco and is on the violin faculty of Community Music Center, the Chinese American International School, and the Music City ...

Cory Combs is an educator, historian, lecturer, bassist, and composer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He earned his bachelorʼs and masterʼs degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied classical performance, jazz, and composition. He is currently director of outreach, music, ...

Jana Comstock holds a Ph.D. in mathematics with a focus on low-dimensional topology from UC San Diego. Her love of teaching and mathematics began during her undergraduate days at Williams College, where she was a geology TA while also teaching mathematics at Miss Porter's, Groton, and Saint Ann's ...

Heather Connolly, M.A., has been a kindergarten teacher at Nueva for the past three years. She is known for her ability to understand each child’s individual learning needs and interest level, and to develop innovative curricula that both engage each child and advance the class as a whole. ...

Jo Elsner, Ph.D., has worked as a classroom teacher. math consultant, teacher mentor, and professor of math curriculum and instruction in five states. She specializes in assisting students, parents, and teachers in designing programs for developing the higher levels of thinking and problem-solving ...

Dr. Fred Estes has taught learners from preK through post-grad levels for the last 25 years. He currently teaches science at the Nueva School. Fred regularly presents at state and national conferences, writes for professional journals, and consults with schools, families, and policy organizations ...

Rush Sabiston Frank, M.S., brings over 15 years of social work and counseling experience with youth and families to her eight years as a Nueva Social and Emotional Learning teacher. Rush holds an M.S. in professional counseling and a B.S. in psychology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel ...

Diane W. Frankenstein, M.A., award-winning author of Reading Together: Everything You Need to Know to Raise a Child Who Loves to Read, holds a master degree in children's literature and language arts. Since 1989 Diane has worked as an educational consultant, providing school communities -- parents, ...

Hillary Freeman, M.S., has brought real-world science into the Nueva classroom since 2007. With a masters in fisheries biology, Hillary worked for the US Navy and the National Marine Fisheries Service as a lead scientist on ocean-going vessels. Before devoting herself to teaching, Hillary was an ...

Carolee Fucigna, MS, earned her degree in Child Study at Tufts University. She has been involved in teaching and research in early childhood for over 35 years in both the Boston and Bay areas. She has collaborated on two books on children and the visual arts, written and presented locally and ...

Mark L. Garibaldi is a research associate in education, human development, and workforce at American Institutes for Research (AIR), a behavioral and social science research organization. His work focuses on social and emotional development, creativity, peer-mediation, and self-identity formation. ...

Kim has 16 years' experience teaching elementary grades in both the regular and special education classroom. She is beginning her twelfth year at Nueva, where she is now the learning specialist for grades K through 4. Kim earned her B.A. in sociology from UC Berkeley and her M.A. in special ...

Professor Miraca Gross, M.Ed., Ph.D., is director of University of New South Wales's Gifted Education Research, Resource, and Information Centre (GERRIC). Her research focuses on issues of equity for gifted students, ability grouping, acceleration, socio-affective development, and the highly ...

Shelley Haven has worked for the past 25 years helping individuals with physical, sensory, cognitive, and learning challenges to unlock their potential with technology. She has a degree in mechanical engineering and is certified both as an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) and a ...

Sally Keyes, director of professional development for the Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative, has been a middle school mathematics teacher for more than 15 years, with an undergraduate degree and Standard Secondary Life Credential in mathematics from the University of California at Irvine. Sally ...

Peter has taught for over 25 years at elementary through university levels, including 12 years teaching mathematical enrichment at Nueva, and he has earned degrees in theoretical and elementary particle physics from Imperial College and the Royal Holloway College, University of London. Peter was a ...

Emily Kolatch, M.A., is head of Lower School at the Nueva School. Formerly a teacher of the humanities, Emily is devoted to helping engage young people in authentic learning experiences as a means of fostering their development of positive identity, empathy, and personal passion. She especially ...

Cynthia Kosut, B.A., recipient of the American Memory Fellowship from the Library of Congress, has been developing integrated curricula and teaching gifted students at Nueva for over 15 years. With a diverse background in the scholarship of Homeric Greek and Euclidean geometry, French literature ...

Susan Lyon, Ed.D, is the founder and executive director of The Innovative Teacher Project, in collaboration with the School of Education at Mills College. Susan's teaching experience includes 15 years of preschool through second grade, along with several years as a professor in the Education ...

Peggy McLean, M.A., classroom teacher, workshop leader, and math coach, is the author of numerous books and materials on teaching mathematics through the use of manipulatives. She has taught college-level courses in teaching methods; presented at local, state, and national conferences; and worked ...

Elizabeth has 20 years experience in education, from classroom teacher to co-founding Girlventures, a Bay Area nonprofit, to trainer for the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center. During her five years at Nueva, Elizabeth has taught SEL to students in 1st through 6th grades, developing curricula ...

Rebecca has taught K through 2nd grade for 14 years in both public and independent schools around the Bay Area. Rebecca has based her recent classroom research on the use of reflection and mindfulness practices with young students, particularly those with attention difficulties. She delights in ...

Born and raised in Japan, Chako brings to Nueva's Japanese class more than 20 years experience as a journalist reporting on international affairs and educational issues, including gifted education. Chako sensei's class focuses on global intelligence. Her mission is not only to teach the language, ...

Megan O'Neill, M.E., has taught science at Fairhope High School for 10 years. She recently secured grants for "Saving Our Shores and Seas," in which her students work with local scientists to conduct Gulf Coast habitat restorations using species grown in class. In addition to winning the ...

Neha Pall, M.Ed., received her professional teacher license in elementary education from the University of Colorado at Boulder and completed her M.Ed. in creative arts in learning with a multicultural specialization at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Neha began her teaching career as a math ...

Pote Pothongsunan, M.A., is the 6th grade science teacher at the Nueva School. He has taught physics and mathematics at independent and public schools for the past 13 years. He has also taught the Principles of Engineering Design and Flight Science courses for Johns Hopkins' University's Center ...

Laraine Ray teaches kindergarten at the Nueva School. During her 30-year career as an early childhood educator, she has developed programs that honor play-based learning, emergent studies, and the integration of social-emotional learning with core subject matter. She has developed extensive early ...

It was as a student at Nueva that Liza developed her passion for life-long learning and experiential travel. After receiving her B.A. from Brown University, Liza was awarded the Samuel T. Arnold Fellowship for International Study and spent a year in Trinidad. Her return to Nueva as a middle school ...

Julie Ron, M.S., teaches seventh grade science at Nueva. After studying geology and English literature at Macalester College, Julie pursued graduate research in seismology at UC Santa Cruz. As a graduate student, Julie participated in the Center for Informal Learning and Schools as a science ...

Richard Rusczyk, B.S.E., is the founder of the Art of Problem Solving (AoPS). AoPS hosts the world's largest online community for outstanding middle and high school math students, and its online school reaches thousands of students each year. Richard has authored or co-authored 7 of Art of ...

Kim Saxe, M.S., is the director of the Innovation Lab at Nueva and a lecturer at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school) at Stanford University since 2007. She is a longtime educator and a design thinking/engineering pioneer. Kim was instrumental in both the design of Nueva's Innovation ...

Maya Sissoko, M.S., has been teaching for 15 years, the past 13 at Nueva in second and third grades, as well as a sabbatical spent teaching at the International School of Dakar in Senegal. Maya received her M.S. in early childhood and elementary education from Bank Street College of Education. She ...

Karen Tiegel, M.A., has taught for thirteen years in public and independent schools abroad and in the U.S. She is currently at Nueva, where she has been teaching writing to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Karen spent several years teaching at American schools in Taiwan and Switzerland, and ...

Janice Toben, M.Ed., has taught gifted children for nearly 30 years, generating a model for curriculum design and comprehensive lessons that creatively foster inter- and intra-personal skills. Janice facilitates parent education programs and leads training institutes for teachers at numerous public ...

John Thomas West, M.Ed., M.A., accepted the position of headmaster at Mirman School for Highly Gifted Children after 27 years of teaching and administrative experience at Harvard and Harvard-Westlake schools in Los Angeles, He holds a B.A. in psychology from Macalester College in Saint Paul, ...

Devin Wolfe, M.A., has taught technology to students from kindergarten to graduate school for over 11 years. Devin is currently in his third year at the Nueva School, where he teaches technology and serves as the fifth grade dean. Before becoming an educator, Devin worked as an editor and writer in ...

Marjorie Woodwell, Ed.M., is a fourth grade teacher at The Nueva School. Before coming to Nueva she taught at several independent schools in Massachusetts, including Buckingham, Browne & Nichols and the Belmont Day School. She also worked for twenty years as a professional development ...

Paul Zeitz, Ph.D. is a professor at the University of San Francisco and is the director of the San Francisco Math Circle. He majored in history at Harvard and received a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1992, specializing in Ergodic Theory. Between college and ...

Joshua Zucker, M.S., is director of the San Francisco Math Circle and director of the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival. Josh joined Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) as a part-time instructor in 2007. He discovered his love for number theory at Dr. Arnold Ross's summer program at Ohio State ...